Get a disposable number for Android with the new Burner app

For a small fee, you can use a “fake” phone number.

If you've ever needed a temporary phone number for whatever reason, there are several apps out there that you could turn to. Last summer, we wrote about Burner, an application on iOS that enables users to take on another phone number for a small fee. Unlike Google Voice or Skype, the app can assign your mobile phone a new number with just the touch of a button. Today, Burner has made its app available to Android users.

To make a burner phone number with the app, select the “Create Burner” button to choose an area code and then input the number the burner should forward to (it will automatically default to the number on your mobile phone). Unfortunately, you can’t use a land line as the callback number, because the number requires text message verification. You can then pick from a variety of burner options, with the most standard being the Mini Burner for $1.99, which offers a number valid for a week, 20 minutes, or 60 texts. After that, the number is effectively disposed of. There are also payment tiers: eight credits for $4.99, 15 for $7.99, or 25 for $11.99.

The iOS application has also received a few updates, including customizable voicemail greetings, the ability to manage call history by starring and archiving, and improved notifications for in-bound calls, missed calls, and voicemails. Users can also refer Burner to friends to earn extra credits.

There were some concerns about Burner's privacy policies when it first launched, and it's certainly not a good idea to use the application for something illegal. The cofounder and CEO of Burner's parent company, Ad Hob Labs, has said that the company "expressly prohibits" using the app for anything criminal or unlawful. There's even a terms of service to go with the application that states, "We will only provide non-public information in response to law enforcement requests when they are made subject to US laws and via valid legal process." Also, there is still a record of phone calls contained within the dialer and registered with the carrier; Burner cannot delete that data, but it does retain backups and records of association between burner phone numbers for a period of time.

Burner is free to download in the Google Play store and comes with one free number.

Thought this was a REALLY bad idea at first but reading the article all I can say is "Seems legit" but without the sarcasm.

I still can't help but think of the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory when considering the idea of people having cheap and easy access to disposable phone numbers. Certainly there are perfectly reasonable reasons for them. But my mind turns to the pessimistic side of things on this.

Thought this was a REALLY bad idea at first but reading the article all I can say is "Seems legit" but without the sarcasm.

I still can't help but think of the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory when considering the idea of people having cheap and easy access to disposable phone numbers. Certainly there are perfectly reasonable reasons for them. But my mind turns to the pessimistic side of things on this.

All I can see coming out of this are prank calls and ordering pizzas for 'friends'. I can't really see many legitimate uses for a service like this, however.

Thought this was a REALLY bad idea at first but reading the article all I can say is "Seems legit" but without the sarcasm.

I still can't help but think of the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory when considering the idea of people having cheap and easy access to disposable phone numbers. Certainly there are perfectly reasonable reasons for them. But my mind turns to the pessimistic side of things on this.

All I can see coming out of this are prank calls and ordering pizzas for 'friends'. I can't really see many legitimate uses for a service like this, however.

5 years ago (plus or minus) you could always achieve the same thing by using a pay phone. (Now you'd have to find one....) I can certainly imagine mischief, but I don't know that the kind of mischief is really anything that new and significant.

I use the textplus app for my galaxy nexus. Its free, uses wifi/3g, gives a free local number, unlimited sms to north america and cheap voice rates.Paired with a tablet plan (for my cell phone), my cell phone bill is very respectable, and hey when I'm at home I can just use my nexus 7 for all my texting and my messages are automatically synced between devices.

Thought this was a REALLY bad idea at first but reading the article all I can say is "Seems legit" but without the sarcasm.

I still can't help but think of the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory when considering the idea of people having cheap and easy access to disposable phone numbers. Certainly there are perfectly reasonable reasons for them. But my mind turns to the pessimistic side of things on this.

All I can see coming out of this are prank calls and ordering pizzas for 'friends'. I can't really see many legitimate uses for a service like this, however.

I'm sure there are plenty of legal, but less reputable activities this could be used for.

Heck might be a good idea to use when you go out and meet people. You can give out a number to people without caring that they might be a stage 3 virgin clinger when it comes to text messages. If they are Just don't give them your real number.

It's a good thing for consumers to be able to defend themselves from the assault on their privacy by ... by almost every internet corporation now. If having disposable number helps protect one's privacy, even though it opens a door for nefarious use, yeah, by all means.

So what does this offer that a throwaway Google Voice account doesn't? The only advantage I can see is that it's easier to set up lots of numbers -- but I think most users could live with one "burner" gvoice account, which they replace occasionally.

Thought this was a REALLY bad idea at first but reading the article all I can say is "Seems legit" but without the sarcasm.

I still can't help but think of the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory when considering the idea of people having cheap and easy access to disposable phone numbers. Certainly there are perfectly reasonable reasons for them. But my mind turns to the pessimistic side of things on this.

All I can see coming out of this are prank calls and ordering pizzas for 'friends'. I can't really see many legitimate uses for a service like this, however.

Off the top of my head: for women going out to a bar, who might want to hear back from a guy, but also make sure there's some protection in case he turns out he's crazy and won't stop calling. The afore mentioned Craigslist stuff. When you have to give a number to a company for them to contact you, but you know that they're going to then keep calling you about "special promotions".

Plenty of legitimate reasons for this. Avoid recall services trying to sell you things, ah la keeps your cell number more private and off the grid.

But theres too much room for abuse (as others have mentioned drug dealers and FBI, etc). The more room to abuse, the harder others scrutinize, and the further onto the grid my actions (might) be seen. I'd rather keep my skype alternate and toss a couple bucks at them when I need to be anonymous. Or create another GoogleVoice

So what does this offer that a throwaway Google Voice account doesn't? The only advantage I can see is that it's easier to set up lots of numbers -- but I think most users could live with one "burner" gvoice account, which they replace occasionally.

Agreed.. that is what I use my GoogleVoice number for, since it's incredibly easy to block a number (or auto spam if you want to still quickly read what they're offering if they leave a message).. though I've just been using the one instead of replacing it.. don't really see a normal need to have a bunch of burner numbers

If anything, law enforcement should be in love with this since it will be a go-to place for criminals to do their business. Why shut it down when the parent company seems to be so cooperative with LEOs? Let them in and let them go to town.

Besides handing out numbers at the bar, I suppose this could be useful for travellers who need a local number while on the road. Not that many people still pay long distance, but enough do for it to be a headache for some folks. Or it might be useful to get a long term burner for a resume to a company out of town, so they think you're local.

This is not at all law-enforcement-opaque. Burner has to be able to route calls to your phone, after all, so they know your real phone number. Law enforcment can contact Burner with the phone number and an administrative subpoena and find out your real phone number. (Administrative subpoena is the same process that law enforcement uses to get your "regular" phone records.)

This is not at all law-enforcement-opaque. Burner has to be able to route calls to your phone, after all, so they know your real phone number. Law enforcment can contact Burner with the phone number and an administrative subpoena and find out your real phone number. (Administrative subpoena is the same process that law enforcement uses to get your "regular" phone records.)

Message to Burner: Move the company to any country where Mitt Romney keeps his money.

Thought this was a REALLY bad idea at first but reading the article all I can say is "Seems legit" but without the sarcasm.

I still can't help but think of the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory when considering the idea of people having cheap and easy access to disposable phone numbers. Certainly there are perfectly reasonable reasons for them. But my mind turns to the pessimistic side of things on this.

All I can see coming out of this are prank calls and ordering pizzas for 'friends'. I can't really see many legitimate uses for a service like this, however.

Off the top of my head: for women going out to a bar, who might want to hear back from a guy, but also make sure there's some protection in case he turns out he's crazy and won't stop calling. The afore mentioned Craigslist stuff. When you have to give a number to a company for them to contact you, but you know that they're going to then keep calling you about "special promotions".

In other words, for the same kind of reasons why you would use a throw-away email address. I doubt that any of our fellow Ars readers don't have at least one of those.

In a nutshell, it's a method to preserve privacy and prevent unwanted callbacks when email is too slow or awkward to be usable.

Combine this with a free VoIP SMS account signed up for with fake credentials and Voila! Anonymity enhanced. Burner won't know your real number. Johnny Law will still be able to track you down, but it would take a few more steps, and by the time they get to you, they might be rather annoyed.

However, if your goal is to not give ANYONE your real number, this could work. After all, who's to say Burner isn't selling our contact info too?

What's a 'land line'? And why would you be unable to receive SMS (texts) on it?

Can we fast-forward from 2003 to 2013 please? (or 1993, for that matter, since its been baked into SS7 forever).

Does anyone in the US actually implement short messaging on fixed line service? I've never heard of it and found nothing noting its availability on any of the local carriers.

I've received SMS messages on my landline through a text-to-voice translator. I don't know whether the conversion is done by the originating cell network or by my landline provider, but it does work acceptably.

Florence Ion / Florence was a former Reviews Editor at Ars, with a focus on Android, gadgets, and essential gear. She received a degree in journalism from San Francisco State University and lives in the Bay Area.